Case Number 15049: Small Claims Court

BARAKA: SPECIAL EDITION

The Charge

A world beyond words.

The Case

Baraka is a truly unique film experience. A documentary, film essay,
and art film in one, it transcends all of those genres to offer the most
coherent, fascinating, and challenging view of humanity and nature that I have
ever seen on film. It offers no narration and no dialogue, choosing instead to
simply film people and nature in stunning 70mm, bringing together footage from
every continent on the world. As such, the message of the film is never clear,
but instead uses its beauty to allow you to contemplate human nature, evolution,
poverty, environmentalism, and the industrial revolution.

By this point, I don't have much to say about the film itself. Baraka
has become quite well known over time, as a unique visual experience that has
many things to say about humanity, nature, and life. While some people find it
just a little too interested in the exotic, focusing on the differences between
people than similarities, I think it offers a fascinating and genuine look into
cultural difference. It's probably one of those films that will play differently
for each person who watches it. This footage is so varied and unique that it
almost defies description. It is certainly about environmentalism and the impact
of humanity, but it's also about culture and religion, the chaos of the modern
industrial world and a reminder of what the world must have been like before it
became what it is now. Most people with some patience, I expect, will get much
out of its beautiful images and thought-provoking content.

It's rare to see recent productions that were filmed on 70mm stock, and the
result is truly spectacular. The detail on this print is stunning, and this is
the first film that has been transfered to digital at the 8k resolution. While I
realize that's technical mumbo-jumbo to most people, the difference is
immediately apparent. This is a great looking transfer, perhaps as good as I
have seen on DVD. Of course, only some of that quality can be represented in
standard definition, and I'm sure that the Blu-Ray release will be a much better
representation of this high-quality digital transfer. Still, it's possible to
see a clear difference between this and the original DVD transfer. The detail
levels are truly remarkable, there is absolutely no compression to be seen, the
colors are vivid and the motion is completely flawless.

The sound is also impressive. There is a choice here between a Dolby 5.1
track, as well as a rare DTS 96/24 track. The Dolby track sounds solid, but the
DTS track is a much better option if your receiver is able to decode it. The
separation is truly impressive, and the moments when the LFE track kicks in with
thunder or deep drums have a surprising depth. Each channel is used to great
effect, making this a great demo disc for sound as well. The second disc has
only two special features, but each is significant. There is a restoration demo,
exploring the unique method that allowed the production team to digitize the
original negative at the highest possible resolution, as well as a near-feature
length documentary on the production of the film. Both are worth checking out
for fans of Baraka.

In all, this release is an easy recommendation for some people. If you have
yet to own a copy of Baraka, and have no intention to upgrade to high-def
anytime soon, get a hold of this edition as soon as possible. If you already own
the other DVD release, however, I'm not sure this is worth the upgrade -- the
old edition looks quite good as well. If you are planning to get a Blu-Ray
player in the near future, hold off and get this new print in a format that
really shows it off, though. While an 8k transfer is really awesome, it can only
make so much difference in standard definition. This is a film that deserves to
be displayed with as much detail as possible. Either way, it remains a film that
deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.